Top travel photos of the year - 2012

Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the U.S. side to the Canadian side over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, June 15, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

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A reveller of Sao Clemente samba school dances during the second night of carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro on February 20, 2012. AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOPHE SIMON

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The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated during a technical check for the Festival of Lights in Berlin October 9, 2012. Several landmarks of the German capital, including boulevards, squares, towers, historical and modern buildings, will be illuminated during the festival. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

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Vacationers bask in front of the wreckage of capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia near the harbour of Giglio Porto June 20, 2012. REUTERS/Max Rossi

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Carnival revellers dressed as clowns pose in front of the Cologne Cathedral at the start of the carnival in Cologne November 11, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

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Women, wearing nylon masks, rest on the shore during their visit to a beach in Qingdao, Shandong province July 6, 2012. The mask, which was invented by a woman about seven years ago, is used to block the sun's rays. The mask is under mass production and is on sale at swimwear stores. REUTERS/Aly Song

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A monkey licks a block of ice with fruits encased in it during the annual Monkey Buffet Festival, in front of the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi province, 150 km north of Bangkok November 25, 2012. More than 4,000 kg of fruits are used during the annual festival to promote tourism. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

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Visitors have a view of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River flowing below from a skywalk extending out over the Grand Canyon and its incomplete building, on the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona February 28, 2012. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

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Olympic torch bearer Amber Charles holds the Olympic flame on a floating pontoon in front of Tower Bridge in London July 27, 2012. REUTERS/Paul Hackett

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Space Shuttle Endeavour moves down Crenshaw Boulevard en route to the California Science Center as an airplane flies past during its final journey in Los Angeles on October 13, 2012. The 77,272 kg shuttle travelled at no more than 3.2 km per hour along a 19 km route from Los Angeles International Airport to its final home at the California Science Center. AFP PHOTO/Jeff Gritchen/Pool

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Indian Hindu devotees perform a ritual by lighting diyas - earthen lamps - on the occasion of Karthika month in Hyderabad on November 26, 2012. Karthika month is one of the most auspicious months in the lunar calendar which begins on the day after Diwali, the Festival of Lights and ends after 30 days. It is considered very sacred by the devotees of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. AFP PHOTO / Noah SEELAM

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A general view of the Christmas fair held in front of the Palace of Culture in Warsaw December 5, 2012. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

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Tourists take pictures of themselves in front of the Mayan temple of Kukulkan, the feathered serpent and Mayan snake deity, at the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, in the southern Mexican state of Yucatan October 29, 2012. Chichen Itza, which means "at the mouth of the well of the Itza", was a religious and commercial center during 900-1200 A.D. in the northern Mayan lowlands. The landmark has received renewed interest in light of the end of the Mayan calendar on Dec. 21, 2012. REUTERS/Claudia Daut

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Costumed performers take part in a traditional folk festival in San Martin, in the province of Meta November 11, 2012. The annual event, also known as the Folclorico y Turistico del Llano festival (or the international tourism festival of the Llano folk), has at least 272 years of history and commemorates the native people's struggle for freedom against Spanish colonization. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

While elephants are seen at Udawalawe National Park in Udawalawe, November 9, 2012. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

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A halite salt crystal in the shape of a heart is seen in the Nemocon salt mine, September 26, 2012. The mine is one of Colombia's most popular tourist attractions. REUTERS/Jose Miguel Gomez

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Stingrays and sharks swim by, as seen through the window view of a room in the Ocean Suites at the oceanarium in Resorts World Sentosa, in this photo provided by the resort on November 20, 2012. According to media releases, the Ocean Suites offers 11 two-storey guest suites that are located along one side of the S.E.A Aquarium, featuring a view of over 70 marine species through a viewing panel in the bedrooms. Room rates are $1,960 a night. REUTERS/Resorts World Sentosa/Handout

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Gondolas are seen near a flooded St Mark's Square at night during a period of seasonal high water in Venice November 1, 2012. The water level in the canal city rose to 140 cm above normal, according to the monitoring institute. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri

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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen pose in front of the Humayun's tomb in New Delhi, November 5, 2012. Harper was on a six-day state visit to India. REUTERS/B Mathur

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Runners sprint alongside Torrehandilla fighting bulls at the entrance to the bullring during the final running of the bulls at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona July 14, 2012. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso

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A cable car rides to the Sugarloaf mountain in Rio de Janeiro October 27, 2012. Brazilians celebrated the 100th anniversary of the creation of the glass-panelled cable cars, or 'Bondinho' in Portugese, that connect to the famed Sugarloaf mountain. The cable cars were created in 1912. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

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A reveller pours tomato pulp with a bucket into the crowd during the annual "Tomatina" (tomato fight) in the Mediterranean village of Bunol, near Valencia August 29, 2012. The origin of the tomato fight is disputed - everyone in Bunol seems to have a favourite story - but most agree it started around 1940, in the early years of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship. REUTERS/Heino Kalis

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Hikers walk on the Jungfraufirn, the upper ice field of the Aletschgletscher glacier near the Jungfraujoch, which is 3454 m tall, in Bernese Oberland July 25, 2012. The Aletschgletscher glacier is the longest in the Alps. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

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The statue of Hindu monkey god Lord Hanuman is pictured in central Trinidad May 15, 2012. With parades, exhibits and fireworks in colorful Caribbean style, the twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence from Great Britain this year. REUTERS/Verna Gates

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A combination photo shows the Empire State Building with the lights turned off and with the lights switched back on in participation with Earth Hour, in New York, March 31, 2012. Lights went off around the world in a show of support for renewable energy. REUTERS/Andrew Burton

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Mexican traditional sugar "Calaveritas" (Little Skulls) are displayed at the Jamaica market in Mexico City, on October 31, 2012, as Mexicans prepare to celebrate the traditional Day of the Dead. AFP PHOTO/ Pedro Pardo

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Thomas Amort, a third generation fisherman, steers his boat on lake Koenigssee to catch char to make 'Schwarzreiter', a specially prepared char fish which is smoked on wooden hazelnut sticks over an open fire, at his fishing cottage on the remote peninsula next to St. Bartholomae October 18, 2012. Amort uses the same traditional techniques which were used some 400 years ago to produce the smoked fish which takes up to four hours of smoking on an open fire made from beech wood. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

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A Fine Arts Department official tries to restore the head of a sculpture during conservation work at the Temple of the Dawn in Bangkok October 24, 2012. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

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Britain's Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, look at orchid hybrids named in their honour at the National Orchid Garden in the Singapore Botanic Gardens September 11, 2012. The garden was the first stop for the royal couple, who was on their three-day tour of the city-state as part of a tour to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. The orchid hybrid named in their honour is called the Vanda William Catherine. REUTERS/Stephen Morrison/Pool